Hear local leaders on backyard gun ranges

Everyone knows Florida is a gun state, but we all want to believe it is a gun sensible state.

Then we hear that state law lets people build gun ranges in their backyards.

And local governments can't do a thing about it.

That's right. Florida law allows people to build and maintain shooting ranges in their backyards. And unless an owner becomes negligent or reckless, there's nothing a neighbor can do.

For example:

* There's no restriction on the type of firearms or ammunition that can be used in a backyard shooting range.

* There's no restriction on the time of day or night your neighbors can use their gun range.

* And there's no restriction on gun ranges near a public school, day-care center or neighborhood playground. Talk about the need for duck-and-cover lessons.

Already people are taking advantage of the law.

In the Florida Keys, a homeowner built a makeshift wooden range in his yard after learning about the law. As reported by the Miami Herald, the man thinks there should be more restrictions, such as requiring gun-range owners to take a gun-safety course. But so far, Tallahassee shows no appetite for change.

Closer to home, a homeowner recently threatened to build a personal gun range off Ranches Road west of Boynton Beach if a proposed daycare center was approved on land next door.

How did we get here?

The law allowing home gun ranges has been on the books for 27 years. However, as local governments began passing ordinances that banned them, the National Rifle Association convinced state lawmakers in 2011 to fight back. Now, local leaders who create restrictive ordinances face fines of $5,000 per offense. They can even be removed from office and forced to pay their own legal fees if sued over a gun ordinance.

Fortunately, some South Florida public officials — including in Sunrise, Boynton Beach, Southwest Ranches and Hallandale Beach — are speaking up for public safety.

At the urging of Mayor Mike Ryan, Sunrise commissioners recently approved a resolution demanding the state let cities regulate gun use on private property. Earlier this year, Ryan fired off letters to Gov. Rick Scott and Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting guidance on what protective actions he could take without risking removal from office. Unfortunately, this week he received a two-page response that referenced previous Attorney General opinions, which advise against local bans on backyard gun ranges.

"The Florida Attorney General has confirmed cities are powerless to protect residents from firearm target shooting in dense urban residential neighborhoods," Ryan said. "What is alarming is the Attorney General knows there is at least one person out there promoting firearm ranges in dense urban residential neighborhoods."

It is bad enough Florida has captured the national spotlight for over-the-top gun laws, including Stand Your Ground, which removed the requirement that people try to retreat from a threat before resorting to deadly force.

Now, Florida is poised to be the capital of backyard shooting ranges.

"I never heard of such a crazy thing. If some bullet goes flying through the hedges, somebody could get killed," said Hollywood Commissioner Patricia Asseff. "We're not the Wild, Wild West here."

Gun ranges belong in designated areas, not in people's backyards.

As they prepare to open the legislative session on Tuesday, lawmakers should revisit the gun range law, and give control back to local leaders who know their communities best.

Those who know us best, know we don't want to be known as the Wild, Wild South.